Are You Asking The Right Questions?
I am often terrible at asking the right questions. In fact, I don’t ask questions unless I’m really prodded to do so. I answer them. I’m good at that. I’m a pastor. I can talk the paint off walls. But how good am I at listening? Well, I’m getting better. But it’s a process for sure.
My wife knows how to ask questions! She is brilliant. She knows how to get people to talk about themselves. Which is what they really want to do. Let’s face it, it is our nature to be a little self-centered. We love to talk about ourselves.
When I wasn’t doing a good job of dating my wife, she set up an elaborate date to teach me how she wanted to be treated. Part of that date had questions. Little spiraled pieces of paper with questions. And they weren’t your average questions, like, “how was your day?” Oh, no! They were much more in depth than that, and they really dug deep into your soul.
She’s the same way with kids. She knows how to get into their lives on a personal level. One of the most exciting things I watched her do in Kidmin was talk to kids. They LOVE her. Why? Because she is interested in them. She really wants to know what they have to say.
We need to be like Stephanie. Take time to actually listen to a child when they are speaking. and ask the kind of questions that make them give real answers, not one-word answers that are quickly glanced over.
Ask a kid, “If you could be any animal on earth, what kind of animal would you be and why?”
I know I would want to be an Eagle. This majestic bird rises above all others and has such a keen sense of sight, it can pick its prey from hundreds of feet above the ground as it soars through the sky!
What kid wouldn’t want to answer questions like that? And we when can get a child to talk from their heart, they begin to open up about many things, including Jesus! And isn’t that the ultimate goal? We want them to open their hearts to Jesus and have a relationship with Him. Let’s model Jesus, and listen to the children.
Oh, and remember! Aim for the Mark every time – because if we aim at nothing, we’ll hit it every time!
